Buying & Building a $60m Manufacturer

any searchers will say, I'm looking to acquire a business and own it for the long term.

Well, admittedly I'm not sure I've yet had a guest who has actually done the second half of that mission: own for the long term.

So what might doing so look like?

This interview will show you.

Picture it: Chicago, the early/mid-90s. Today's guest Gat Caperton is in his late 20s, working for the famous entrepreneur Sam Zell by day, taking business school classes by night.

It occurs to Gat around this time that to really get to the next level, he should buy a business.

He was familiar with manufacturing. He was from West Virginia and wanted to get back.

So when he learned about an "old guy building furniture" in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, he tried giving said old guy a call.

It worked, and Gat became the owner of a wood furniture manufacturer at age 29.

28 years later, he still very much owns the business, now called Gat Creek.

This year Gat Greek will sell about $25 million of American-made wood furniture to partners like Room & Board (a favorite store of mine).

And, Gat made a big bet coming out of Covid to double capacity over the following 7 years or so — aiming to reach $60m in annual sales.

This was such a fun interview, partly to peer into the future; some of my guests will indeed own & grow their businesses for decades.

And partly, because Gat is a fun guy with great stories.

I think you'll enjoy him too.

Here he is, Gat Caperton, owner of Gat Creek.